We have a plastic surgeon that wants to take high quality photos of cosmetic surgery patients - before and after. He is shooting a DSLR and would like to setup a permanent backdrop (medium blue) and permanent light(s) so the patients can be photographed consistently and with good quality.

The problem is the area is very small. 6 foot wide by 10 foot deep. Hanging a backdrop on a rod is no problem, however, a strobe system might be. I am looking for any ideas I could pursue. I have looked at a couple of continuous lighting systems but have never used one. I have always shot with 2-3 umbrellas with strobes but obviously do not have room for that in this scenario. Preferably, he would like something that could permanently mount to the drop ceiling or wall to be up out of the way do to space limitations.

In such a small area, you might want to consider a ring flash. Alien Bees makes one, and that would be ideal for your situation. It's hand held, and it looks bulky, but it works really well. We've used Alien Bees flashes for some time, and we've heard nothing but good things about thr ring flash. Here's the link:

After looking around, I am considering the Gary Fong Lightsphere. Any thoughts on the reliability in this application? Still open to suggestions. The ring flash with diffuser may be worthy - again, additional comments are appreciated.